ISIS Commits Massacre in Syria’s Sweida as Toll Rises

A truck damaged in a suicide attack in the southern city of Sweida. Reuters
A truck damaged in a suicide attack in the southern city of Sweida. Reuters
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ISIS Commits Massacre in Syria’s Sweida as Toll Rises

A truck damaged in a suicide attack in the southern city of Sweida. Reuters
A truck damaged in a suicide attack in the southern city of Sweida. Reuters

The death toll in coordinated ISIS suicide bombings and shootings in southwestern Syria rose to nearly 250 overnight, more than half of them civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday.

Wednesday's attacks hit Sweida, a Druze-majority province mostly held by the regime which had remained relatively insulated from the country's seven-year civil war.

The death toll climbed steadily throughout the day and into the night, the Britain-based monitoring group, said.

"The toll is now 246 people dead, including 135 civilians," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

The others killed were pro-regime fighters or residents who had taken up arms to defend their villages. 

"The toll keeps rising as civilians who were wounded are dying and people who were unaccounted for are found dead," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The onslaught began with a triple suicide bombing in the city of Sweida, which was followed by attacks with guns and explosives on villages to its north and east. 

A fourth blast hit the provincial capital later in the day. 

ISIS claimed the assault hours later. At least 45 militants died carrying it out, the Observatory said.

It added that it was the worst bloodshed to hit Sweida province since the civil war began in 2011.



Netanyahu Says Significant Progress Made in Talks to Release Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)
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Netanyahu Says Significant Progress Made in Talks to Release Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was "too soon" to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.

Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.

Netanyahu, who has come under pressure from within his right-wing coalition to continue the war and block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, said in a video statement shared by his office that there had been progress, without providing details.

A source familiar with the negotiations said that Washington had been giving Hamas more assurances, in the form of steps that would lead to an end to the war, but said it was US officials who were optimistic, not Israeli ones. The source said there was pressure from Washington to have a deal done as soon as possible.

The White House National Security Council and representatives for US envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading US efforts in the ceasefire talks, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did Hamas representatives.

Israel's leadership has said that it would wage war until the remaining 55 hostages held in Gaza are freed and when Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war, has been dismantled.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has said it would no longer govern after the war if a Palestinian, non-partisan technocratic committee took over, but it has refused to disarm.

The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel said it would abide by the terms, but Hamas has sought amendments. The group has said that it would release all hostages in exchange for a permanent end to the war.

The war in Gaza has raged since Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people in Israel in the October 2023 attack and took 251 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.